Research updates, June 17

• Pregnant people infected with SARS-CoV-2 during their first trimester were more likely to have smaller newborns, according to a new study in Pediatric Research. Scientists studied the birth outcomes of 544 newborns exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in utero and compared them with over 3,000 who weren’t exposed between March and October 2020. They found that, compared to newborns infected in their second or third trimester or unexposed to SARS-CoV-2, those infected during their first trimester had smaller body sizes. Babies who are smaller at birth can have worse developmental outcomes later, the authors noted.
   
• A new study in the Journal of Proteome Research found that children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) triggered by COVID-19 had metabolic disturbances that “mirrored those seen in severe adult COVID-19 patients, indicating a shared inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2.” Researchers did extensive metabolic profiles of 147 children, including those with acute COVID-19, MIS-C, and “healthy” controls. They concluded that “both acute COVID-19 and MIS-C in children are linked with elevated markers associated with risk of adverse cardiovascular health, indicating potential long-term health implications that need further investigation.”
   
• Content warning: self harm and suicidal ideation. A population-level study from a database in Utah found there was a significant association between a past COVID-19 diagnosis and self-harming in children and adolescents. “We observed that individuals with severe COVID-19 had about three times higher odds of self-harm, suicidal ideation and poisoning compared to those without COVID-19,” the authors wrote. The Annals of Medicine study included over 180,000 participants, over 45,000 of whom had COVID-19 in 2020. The authors concluded that that their results were “consistent with existing immunological research that links COVID-19-induced inflammation to negative psychological and mental health outcomes.”

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